Member of parliament Poonam Mahajan has written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to name the Juhu airport after Late JRD Tata who started civil aviation in India at Juhu airport in 1928. Tata also started the Bombay Flying Club which is the first flying club and first flying school in the country.

Mahajan, a BJP MP from the Mumbai North-West constituency is also the chairperson of the Airport Advisory Committee and is a pilot too.

In the 1990s, there was a great demand to name the Mumbai International airport after JRD Tata, but the Shiv Sena and BJP government in the centre decided to name it after Chattrapati Shivaji.

Juhu airport is the first airport in the country and is now being used by helicopters and small fixed wing aircrafts.

On December 2, Mahajan wrote to Prime Minister that the airport should be named after JRD who was a pioneer in the civil aviation sector in India.

The letter said, "It would pertinent to note that the first ever flight in the history of Indian aviation was undertaken by JRD Tata who became one of the first Indians to be granted commercial pilots license in 1929. The flight under the aegis of Tata Aviation Service - forerunner to Tata Airlines and Air India - carried mail in a Puss Moth aircraft to Juhu airport in Mumbai from Drigh Road airstrip in Karachi via Ahmedabad."

Interestingly, JRD was a recipient of the prestigious Daniel Guggenheim Medal commemorating significant achievement in aeronautics in 1998 for his lifetime of significant contributions to aviation, for his pioneering work in developing commercial air travel in India and Asia and for his leadership in establishing Air India as a major international link between Asia and rest of world.

She pointed that keeping in mind JRD Tata's notable contributions in the Indian Civil Aviation Sector, it would be fairly appropriate that Juhu Airport in Mumbai is named as Bharat Ratna JRD Tata airport. She is also planning to raise the issue the meeting of Airport Users committee to be held at Juhu airport on December 13, 2017, so that the demand is documented in minutes.

Meanwhile, the Airport Authority of India is starting a small museum at the entrance of Juhu airport where photographs of yesteryears when JRD started Bombay Flying Club and his planes will be displayed.

Great news. Actually, they should have named Mumbai's International airport after JRD instead of Shivaji, but I guess we should thank them for small mercies. The local thugs would have named Juhu after some other warlord if they had their way.

The IAF has an ex-AI L-1047 Super Constellation and two ex- AI Boeing 707s in storage. They should paint these planes in their erstwhile AI liveries and display them in the museum. It would be fitting, as JRD was very closely associated with both these types.

Unfortunately, none of AI's 742s survive. Having one of those in the museum would have been great too._________________I don't know which is the more pampered bunch : AI's widebodies (the aunties) or Jet's widebodies (the planes).
-Jasepl

Great news. Actually, they should have named Mumbai's International airport after JRD instead of Shivaji, but I guess we should thank them for small mercies. The local thugs would have named Juhu after some other warlord if they had their way.

The IAF has an ex-AI L-1047 Super Constellation and two ex- AI Boeing 707s in storage. They should paint these planes in their erstwhile AI liveries and display them in the museum. It would be fitting, as JRD was very closely associated with both these types.

Unfortunately, none of AI's 742s survive. Having one of those in the museum would have been great too.

The IAF has an ex-AI L-1047 Super Constellation and two ex- AI Boeing 707s in storage.

Are you referring to the Connie on display at the Naval Aviation Museum in Goa or a different L-1047?

No, not the one in the Naval Aviation Museum. There is apparently an ex-AI L-1049 Connie that the IAF has stored in Agra. It has been earmarked for the IAF museum in Delhi, but that would be a cruel waste of a Connie, in my opinion. It should be brought to Bombay and stored in the JRD museum , painted in old AI colours.

The two 707s are in Delhi. They were used by the ARC, but have been stored for a while now._________________I don't know which is the more pampered bunch : AI's widebodies (the aunties) or Jet's widebodies (the planes).
-Jasepl

The IAF has an ex-AI L-1047 Super Constellation and two ex- AI Boeing 707s in storage.

Are you referring to the Connie on display at the Naval Aviation Museum in Goa or a different L-1047?

No, not the one in the Naval Aviation Museum. There is apparently an ex-AI L-1049 Connie that the IAF has stored in Agra. It has been earmarked for the IAF museum in Delhi, but that would be a cruel waste of a Connie, in my opinion. It should be brought to Bombay and stored in the JRD museum , painted in old AI colours.

Thats great news!
I wish they'd get her airworthy and add her to Vintage Flight, though!

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The two 707s are in Delhi. They were used by the ARC, but have been stored for a while now.

Yes, those two are visible, parked at DEL. Hope they have a better future in store.